Nano Dimension awarded two aerospace projects

Space Florida and the Innovation Authority announced in 2013 a joint programme totalling $2m a year for financing research and development in space technology by Israeli companies. The following projects were awarded to Nano Dimension:

Harris Corporation and Nano Dimension to develop next generation 3D printed electronic systems
Harris Corp and Nano Dimension will jointly develop 3D printing of electronic modules for space applications. This project will demonstrate double-sided, multi-layer circuits that distributedigital, power and RF signal at the same substrate, thus providing reduced size, weight, power and cost of space systems. New high volume printed RF technology will provide improved reliability and uniformity of space systems by eliminating manual assembly. “Such development is planned to lead to cost reductions of $400K per small satellite, thus providing enormous market capabilities for both entities”, said Space Florida.

Harris is a proven leader in tactical communications, geospatial systems and services, air traffic management, environmental solutions, avionics and electronic warfare, and space and intelligence delivering innovative solutions through its Communications Systems, Space and Intellligence Systems and Electronic Systems. 

Semplastics and Nano Dimension to develop 3D ceramic materials for aerospace applications
As part of the project Nano Dimension will also work with Semplastics. Nano Dimesnion are aiming to focus on using Semplastics novel ceramic material precursors with its 3D inkjet printing technology to create prototype applications for the aerospace industry. A novel ceramic material, developed by Semplastics and used in prototype space applications in cooperation with NASA, will be 3D printed for this project. A modified resin will be developed for the Nano Dimension 3D printer during this project, resulting in a light-weight yet highly mechanically stable object.

The technologies available today to create ceramic elements are expensive as well as time- and energy-consuming from the design stage until final assembly, and they do not support the creation of complex structures. 3D printing of high-resolution ceramic materials has the potential to allow the creation of complex geometrical shapes, thus allowing rapid and cheaper production of small batches of designated ceramic objects, used in the aerospace industry.